


A Long Road Home, With You By My Side

by Triforchestra



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dealing with Memory Loss, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Moving On, Reflection, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:34:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24029707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triforchestra/pseuds/Triforchestra
Summary: After the defeat of Calamity Ganon and the revival of the princess, Link and Zelda make an emotional trek to Hyrule Castle to say their last goodbyes. Takes place immediately after the final battle.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	A Long Road Home, With You By My Side

"May I ask?"

"Do you really remember me?"

Her teal eyes, pure as the waters of the Spirit Springs and knowing as the droplets of mystical Sheikah data, reached for him gracefully, yearningly, and now more than ever Link felt at a loss for words. He stood in silence before her, the true physical form of a glowing goddess whom, before this moment, he could only vaguely picture through fragmented memories of the past. Even in his determination to rescue her, to relieve her of the dutiful pain she'd endured for centuries, he had never imagined the moment his eyes might have the honor of gracing her living presence.

As she waited patiently for his response, her hands elegantly folded across her heart, her image comparable to statuettes of reverent angels, Link contemplated how he might answer her question.

_Did he really remember her?_

He knew her from memories that hardly felt like his, splintered memories that he had collected during his journey across Hyrule. Recalling those memories felt more akin to scenes he indirectly witnessed, like a ghost watching vicariously from afar, completed detached. They didn't connect with him as events he had personally experienced or felt within his being.

Through all his adventuring, Link had pondered why the memories felt so foreign to him, and the more he had contemplated, the more the truth became painfully obvious. Though in a physical sense, he was indeed the man that faced these events first-hand, he had come to realize that man was no longer him.

The man that woke up from his 100-year rest was a clean slate, an empty husk without a sense of self. In this post-apocalyptic Hyrule that Link had woken up to, he rebuilt an entirely new self, with new memories and new experiences, disconnected from those 100 years past.

And consequently, though Link knew that he knew her, he understood rather regrettably that he did not truly _know_ her anymore. She was connected to his self that died 100 years ago alongside his memories, the self with which he could only vaguely identify.

Even so, he knew it wasn't quite as simple as that. Hearing her voice, angelic as the divine power she held, yet proper as the Princess she had been, yet intellectual as the scholar she was, there was something unquestionably familiar, warm yet shocking. As if some of the fragmentation abiding from his old self had been painfully patched up, like sewing stitches on an open wound. It made his stomach turn somersaults, his hands tremble, and his mind race, despite the fact that no physical danger was currently threatening him, what with the malicious beast, Ganon, finally having been eliminated.

So for many reasons, Link stood there paralyzed, his mind gyrating through thought after thought, like cogs of well-worn machine chugging along, faltering and stuttering.

"It's alright."

Her gentle voice suddenly penetrated through Link's internal dialogue, waking him from his jumbled thoughts. Her chin dipped slightly as her eyebrows drew inward, conveying a thoughtful look, as though she had been listening to his entire string of inner conflict.

"You don't have to answer now."

Her smile widened ever so slightly, like a mother comforting a lost child.

Again, Link found himself at a loss of words. Yet, his racing contemplations finally decided that perhaps silence was the most appropriate response, due to some innate habit rising up out of a place in his mind that he didn't know.

Before he could get lost in himself again, the sweet goddess began to approach him, her steps slow and unhurried. Her hands remained intertwined over her heart, her eyes never leaving his. She stopped only when she was a couple feet from him.

"Link, I…"

Her voice was soft and gentle. She hesitated, as her eyes wandered past him, her thoughtful expression now reflecting somber sobriety, rather than gentle compassion.

"I'd like to bid farewell to the castle…and to my father, one last time."

Link tilted his head as he stared at her pensively.

"I would be grateful if you might accompany me."

He nodded, without needing to give her request a second thought. Her face lifted, and she smiled warmly as her eyes met his.

"Thank you, Link."

She finally let her arms drop from her chest, as her right hand gently reached for his left, tugging on him tenderly. Her touch made him flinch momentarily, but she had already turned and began walking in the other direction before she could notice the brief discomfort on his face. Confused by how he should react, he saw no other option but to follow her lead and let her take his arm.

Hand in hand, with her dragging him along more than anything, the pair silently walked from the field where they met their final confrontation with Ganon, and slowly closed the distance between them and the ruined Hyrule Castle. It was a long walk back, and Link wondered if she would maintain this hurried demeanor for the entire trek.

Once they reached a pathway, which Link recognized as one of the roads leading to Hyrule Castle, he noticed her pace slowly significantly before coming to a halt, seemingly to look at the Mabe Village Ruins not far ahead of them. Still holding her hand, Link cautiously moved to stand next to her. He looked at her face, puzzled by her sudden stop, at which point he noticed her eyes glistening, her mouth slightly parted, her face sullen and drained of color. It made a wave of nervous energy spread through him, another discomfort that felt familiar, but he could not place.

"I'm sorry."

She finally spoke. Her head dropped as she closed her eyes tightly.

"It's just…I knew it would hurt, but…"

She turned her face to avoid Link's gaze. He waited for her to finish her sentence, but it seemed she didn't intend on completing that thought, so he let her be.

They stood there in silence, listening to wind rustle the grass, a couple birds chirping in the distance, a squirrel skittering across the dirt road. Link was accustomed to this silence, having spent many of his days surrounded by nature as he traveled across this enormous land of Hyrule.

And yet, this silence felt different.

Standing next to her, a figure whom he had only ever conceived as a figment of a long-gone past, alone is this vast land, he felt the emptiness of the ruined world creep up on him. A realization that had always been lost on him, since his new self hardly had any connection to the old grandeur of Hyrule.

He felt…alienated…to not show the same solemn sentiment as she did.

As soon as he had gotten lost in thought, she squeezed his hand, drawing him back to her.

"Let's go."

They continued their walk back, moving further from the pathway and closer to the forest encapsulating the Sacred Ground Ruins. This time, she walked slower, allowing Link to remain at her side. Without realizing it, he had been drinking her in with his eyes, though not with rude intentions. Rather, some primal part of him thought the golden goddess might not be real, that if he looked away, she might disappear and be reduced again to a splinter of foreign memories that didn't feel like his. He examined her expression, trying to figure what she might be thinking, all while entranced by the face that felt so painfully familiar.

Once they reached the forest housing the Sacred Ground Ruins, her pace slowed again. Link accommodated his own to match hers.

They passed by the fountain, which Link knew factually as the place where was sworn as her appointed knight, and yet he couldn't remember corporeally. The place was as unaffecting to him as any other ruin he had passed in his journey, and his deadpan expression conveyed that sentiment.

Anticipating her stop, Link eased his steps as he led her to the decrepit ceremonial site.

She looked up at him, for the first time since her initial request, her eyes so heavy that tears might be forced out just to accommodate.

"You remember this place, right?"

Though her question was simple, her soft face was pleading, and he instinctually gave her a small nod, wanting nothing more than to give her reassurance in that moment, to ease the heaviness of her pain which he worried might crush her at any moment. The feeling was so natural, an inclination so fixed in him that not even 100 years had broken it. The remembrance of that feeling, that unmitigated desire to care for her made him smile unconsciously.

Her eyes brightened like clouds parting a clear blue sky. He held the sight of her smile for as long as he could, hoping to extend that moment into infinity.

She squeezed his hand again, and led Link away from the fountain, close to the Castle Town entrance. Link tensed, apprehensive of the Guardian army that usually patrolled the area. Thankfully, it seemed that Ganon's defeat eradicated their source of malice – all of the Guardians that he knew regularly scouted the area glowed blue instead of dark pink. Still, these enemies were among the most threatening that Link had faced on his journey, so his muscles remained tight with trepidation.

As they slowly wandered through the Hyrule Castle Town Remains, he noticed that he was not alone in his uneasiness. He saw Zelda's face pivot irregularly, shifting quickly between the various ruined architecture. He felt an uncomfortable lump form in his stomach as he realized that she recognized everything, that each scrap of rubble had meaning to her. Every piece of ruin was a building she once knew, a remnant of the kingdom he knew she had once ruled over.

At the moment, it didn't matter to him that he couldn't feel the same, that his connection to what this place once was had been destroyed alongside this very kingdom. It only mattered in that he wished she was not alone with her feelings.

He felt her hand quiver.

Instinctively, he moved in front and grabbed her left shoulder, stabilizing her as she fell to her knees, her head slung forward. He bent down with her, his eyebrows furrowed with deep concern, as he heard her quietly sob.

In that moment, he was reminded of a familiar scene. A stormy night, the two of them frantically scurrying through a forest, escaping from the unstoppable calamity, soaked in blood and dirt. He thought of her, on her knees as she was now, sobbing about the destruction that she believed was all her fault. That moment felt more real to him than it ever had. Perhaps those memories weren't completely lost to him after all…

As soon as she had fallen to her knees, the golden goddess found the strength to lift herself up, to Link's surprise. He continued to hold her, weary if she might fall again.

"I thought, after all this time…I might have the strength, to face this travesty, with wisdom and acceptance…But no…it hurts all the same."

Her words drawled with sluggish poignancy. Link found himself leaning into her, wishing he could will her pain away.

"Even so…"

She raised her head to look up at him, a trace of vitality hidden behind her cloudy eyes.

"I understand that the only way to go now, is forward."

Link cocked his head.

"Please, Link. Let's put the past behind us."

He gave her a quick nod and squeezed her hand, supporting her as she got to her feet. This time, he led the way, as the pair took their final steps up to the great doors of the Hyrule Castle Gate.

She finally let go of his head, taking a couple paces forward before she stopped, staring up at the castle that was once her home, meditative and thoughtful. Link joined her.

He wished that he could gaze upon this castle, and feel and understand the experiences that shaped him, to know this hero who wielded the Master Sword. This man who was a childhood friend to Mipha, a companion to Daruk, a competitor to Revali, and a respected ally to Urbosa. The man who supported this beacon of light beside him now amidst a falling kingdom. He wished with all his being that he could truly know who he once was, the man that she had known him to be.

Above all, though, he wished he could know her.

Zelda.

But, perhaps, it was a blessing not to know. He thought about the burden of knowledge she carried, the painful memories, the forced attachment to an era long gone.

Perhaps, it was best to move on, to let that part of him go.

The two stood together, though separate in their own minds, each contemplating their pasts and their futures. And as the petals of Silent Princess buds drifted in the wind, Zelda shifted her solemn gaze to Link, giving him a knowing look that it was time to go.

As they began to leave, something took hold of them both, and they looked back up at the castle one last time. The ghosts of the past took their turn for final farewells. The figures drifted into peace, taking their burdens with them, leaving the future open to the young heroes.

Not long after they left the castle, Link noticed that Zelda's feet dragged while she walked, her shoulders slouched and her head low. Seeing her weariness, he whistled for Epona and carefully assisted her atop his steed.

Together, they rode forward, neither of them knowing what lied ahead.

As exhaustion took hold of her, Zelda rested her head on Link's shoulder, and wrapped her arms gently around his waist.

"We still have a long way to go."

Link nodded.

"But Link?"

He turned his head to hers.

"I'm glad that you're with me."

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this a couple years ago as a one shot. Made some minimal edits and decided to post. May continue if there's interest.


End file.
